Androgynous Love Paranoia
by Erin Tesden
Summary: "I-I... Even if it's just for a day... No. Even if it's just for an instant... I'd like to know what it feels like to be a girl." A wish and a simple D-Mail, will change Urushibara Luka s life. Will he be able to return everything back to normal, or will Luka find happiness in the most unusual situation. "Luka s Reading Steiner" sequel. [Luka x Fem!Okabe] ON HIATUS
1. 0 - Prologue

**First, neither Steins;Gate nor any of its character in this fanfiction belong to me.**

 **Having already left copyright issues clear, be welcome.**

 **This will be a multichapter shipping fic centered around the pairing of Luka and Okabe. However, as noted in the summary, it will not be yaoi. You'll see what im talking about soon.**

 **Before starting, I have to point this is a sequel of my Oneshot "Lukas Reading Steiner", and although It's not totally compulsory to read it before this, it would be appreciated. The only thing you need to know is that in this story Okabe isn't the one who has the ability to keep his memories between different worldlines, but Luka.**

 **Additionally, this fic elapses in the worldlines of the Delta (δ) Attractor Field (Divergence between 3 - 3.99%), so SERN here isn't the same dangerous influential organization as in the original anime/VN, and therefore the future is a normal, safe and happy place.**

 **Anyway, I hope you like it.**

* * *

 **Prologue: Androgynous Love Paranoia**

The Urushibara Luka from the past had a wish. And that wish had been to change himself.

His mind and body were in dissonance. And Luka didn't know what to do about it

Being a boy despite his extremely feminine appearance and mannerisms, Luka was never able to fit in and be accepted by others, despite his multiple efforts.

And so, with the pass of time, it became impossible for Luka to even accept himself.

But then, when the young boy had almost lost all hope, things finally started to improve.

First he met Mayuri, his best and dearest friend, and then Okabe, his "Master", who taught him to believe in himself, and for whom he began to have feelings; feelings that he would never have thought he would have the opportunity to feel for someone. Both of them opened the doors to a world he didn't know; a world where he didn't need to change, getting to know so many wonderful and different people who accepted him for the person that he was...

And so, little by little, the emptiness in his life started to filling up...

The fragile boy finally began to feel happiness for being as he was. For being who he was.

Urushibara Luka, also called Luka-kun, Lukako or Luka-shi. Future Gadgets Lab Mem No.006, and the sole possessor of the ability to keep all his memories after a change in the past, the "Reading Steiner".

And in the same way that he would never have thought that his life would change so much, only a couple of years ago, Luka could never have imagined the immediate consequences that his actions would have that day, thanks to the sending of that D-Mail. .

And to think that everything would happen because of the words he said the day before.

—I-I... Even if it's just for a day... No. Even if it's just for an instant... I'd like to know what it feels like to be a girl.

That simple and innocent new wish, would put his whole life upside down.

* * *

 **Good! For now, only the prologue as a small introduction.**

 **But you 'll see, things will get interesting pretty fast.**

 **Thank you very much for taking a moment to read this story. Please leave your reviews to know what you think.**


	2. 1 - Existential Parallel Reversal

**Okay, finally here is the first chapter.**

 **I remind you that this story happens in the delta attractor field, so SERN is not a threat, and therefore Moeka and Tennouji are just normal people.**

 **Hope you like.**

 **Chapter 1: Existential Parallel Reversal**

* * *

It happened on a completely normal day; Luka suddenly became aware of a fact that, in a certain way, he already knew:

Okabe Rintarou, or Hououin Kyouma, self-proclaimed Mad Scientist, was a fairly popular man...

It made sense, after all Okabe was a good hearted man with great character, who always watched over the welfare of his friends, and although on several occasions Luka had come to notice certain flashes of vulnerability in him, at the end of the day there was nothing that could stop him to accomplish his goals. He was like that, a somewhat stubborn man with a really strong will to face adversity. The fact that Okabe was, at least in Luka's opinion, quite handsome, also helped.

But undoubtedly the most striking thing about Okabe was his eccentric but genuinely magnetic personality, which seemed to attract all kinds of different people to his circle of acquaintances and friends.

Nevertheless...

For Luka's consternation, Okabe's charisma seemed to be especially effective with the opposite sex.

* * *

—Okarin, let's go to the Comiket together!

It was difficult to describe Mayuri and Okabe as a regular pair of childhood friends. Even after so much time, they were so close to each other that they could almost be considered family, being Okabe as the older brother always protecting his little sister, even though he denied how much he really cared about her.

Whenever Luka saw them converse, he couldn't help but smile and feel a kind of longing in his heart. After all, unlike them Luka actually had a blood-related sibling. However, the relationship between both of them had never been one tenth of how good the brotherhood between the Mad Scientist and his hostage was.

* * *

—OKABE, IDIOT! WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!

Despite their explosive relationship, it was obvious to Luka that Kurisu and Okabe got along better than they themselves wanted to admit.

Tied by their love for science, both of them plus Daru were the lab members with more active participation, always conducting experiments and creating new gadgets. And despite their constant quarrels and arguments, Luka could easily notice that against all appearances both of them actually felt some appreciation and respect for each other's intelligence and skill, although they almost never showed it and refused to admit it.

Luka had seen enough movies and novels about love-hate relationships to know how those two could end...

* * *

—Kyouma! I need your help-nyan! The Supreme Dark Lords have returned to take revenge on Faris for abandoning them and becoming the protector of earth-nyan!

Faris-nyan-nyan, or Akiha Rumiho, was not only a lab member and the ultimate Maid Queen in Akiba, she could practically be recognized as a force of nature; Faris was able to make friends with almost anyone, to the point that her gift for entering people's hearts was legendary. And Okabe was no exception.

Like branches of the same tree, Faris and Okabe managed to establish an unusual friendship, with the Maid constantly following Okabe's game and dulling the young Mad Scientist strange delusions with her own stories for the sole purpose of irritating and playing with him.

The fact that the beautiful and lovely girl seemed especially interested in Okabe frankly intimidated Luka. Although no more than all her attempts to convince him to work with her.

* * *

—Okabe Rintarou, would you help me to find my mother in this worldline?

Amane Suzuha, or "Half-Time Warrior" as Okabe nicknamed the girl who worked in the CRT store of his landlord, Yuugo Tennouji aka. "Mister Braun".

She had a very particular behavior, being somehow extremely formal and informal at the same time. It was as if she forced herself to keep some distance between her and the others, although her simplicity and straightforward personality prevent it. So in the end the strange girl was someone with whom anyone could get along, as if she were an old acquaintance.

As for Okabe, Suzuha curiously didn't seemed to be affected at all by his eccentricity, almost as if she was already used to him, and in fact, to some extent, she seemed to believe all the weird stuff that Okabe told her. So despite knowing her from very recently, Okabe had come to trust her.

* * *

—Okabe-kun… Would you accept... work part time... as a cameraman... for my next article...?

Luka was embarrassed to admit it, but he found the young woman a little frightening...

Kiryuu Moeka, writer for a local magazine and nicknamed by Okabe as "Shining Finger" thanks to her incredible speed to write and send mails.

She was a very quiet and inexpressive person, with clear problems to communicate, preferring to use her phone even if the person she wanted to talk with was present in the same room as her. The contrast between the animated, extroverted and even childish Moeka from the mails and the real Moeka with her impossible to read expression and broken and silent voice, couldn't be greater. It was hard for Luka to imagine what her life should have been like for her to be that way.

However, little by little, the introverted woman was coming out of her shell. Her advances were slow, almost imperceptible for someone who didn't know where to look, but they were constant. And the main responsible people were Tennouji, who had been taking care of her for the past few years as if she were his own daughter, and of course, Okabe.

The young Mad Scientist had been one of the few people of her age with whom Moeka had been able to communicate in a very long time. Okabe had been strange, noisy and somewhat rude, as always. But the woman had seen something in him, and now he was one of the people with whom Moeka seemed most comfortable talking.

Luka could feel perfectly identified with the situation.

* * *

Luka sighed frustrated.

Just admitting it made him feel bad about himself, but lately he had started to feel jealous every time some of the girls interacted with Okabe a bit too much.

It didn't make sense. Luka was having serious problems understanding his own feelings; more problems than usual.

Why should he be jealous...? Did he fear that Okabe would stop being his friend if he spent more time with the girls...? Luka couldn't lie to himself, in the past he had genuinely come to believe that could happen, but now he understood that wasn't the case.

He, Okabe, Mayuri, Daru, Kurisu, Suzuha and Moeka, were not only lab members but also friends. And Okabe was always there for his friends, for his comrades, and would never abandon any of them. So Luka had nothing to fear.

Plus, it was the fact that Luka had never feel like that when someone else talked with Mayuri, and she was his best friend too.

So the question remained, what was the reason for his jealousy? And why it show up only when it came to Okabe?

In his inexperience Luka was unable to find the solution for that simple puzzle, despite already having all the necessary pieces.

However, he just needed a little push in the right direction to understand everything. Something in what his father contributed without knowing it.

—Hououin-kun is really a nice guy. Luka likes him a lot, right? —The priest commented innocently. Like the previous time, it wasn't really a question. The man could easily see how attached his son was to Okabe.

Unlike the last time, Luka didn't remain paralyzed. But on the contrary, he fled to his room without looking back, his heart beating and beating...

Everything had finally clicked in his mind.

Okabe was his friend, but what Luka felt for him wasn't just friendship... He had fallen in love with Okabe.

Faced with this realization, the Luka of the past would undoubtedly fall into a circle of depression and self-contempt, feeling like a freak. Luckily the current Luka, after a moment of bewilderment and embarrassment without having the slightest idea of what the hell to do or think, could feel his mind clear and finally accepted the reality.

Even though they were both men, he loved Okabe. Luka knew that it was strange and that many people would judge him for feeling like that, but any doubt or thought that his feelings weren't normal disappeared every time he crossed his eyes with Okabe.

What he felt for Okabe... Simply felt natural.

However, love is a two-person thing.

* * *

Luka planned to confess his feelings for Okabe, but even after taking his time to gather enough courage to do so, there was a great impediment in the way.

Luka knew that if he confessed he would be rejected without question...

Of course, being rejected in itself wasn't really the problem. Luka knew that Okabe would be kind in his refusal. It would hurt, no doubt, and being close to Okabe would be uncomfortable for a while, but he would accept his decision, and eventually everything would be left behind and they would be friends again as before. Luka was ready to face that situation if it happened.

The real problem was something much simpler:

Luka knew Okabe liked him, after all he was his disciple and like all the other lab members, he was an irreplaceable friend to Okabe. But the fact was that no matter how feminine Luka was, he was still a boy at the end, and Okabe obviously doesn't like boys.

That in itself, was an impassable wall in his path.

Yeah, just for being a boy rejection would be inevitable, as if it were written in stone. No matter what Luka did, regardless of his efforts and what he felt, none of that would be taking into account. And nothing would change such a result.

It would be almost like being disqualified from a competition where you really didn't get the opportunity to participate. Like being defeated before you even started.

If things ended that way Luka would never be able to find closure from his feelings for Okabe and move on. It would be something that would torment him forever. Thinking about how things could have been under other circumstances.

But then, one day Luka managed to find the answer to his dilemma.

If the problem was his gender, the obvious solution would be simply to change it.

If he were a girl he would finally get on the radar and have a opportunity. His hopes would stop being completely null and he could finally be at peace to accept Okabe's decision whatever it was.

Better yet, taking a moment to be positive and maybe a little bit greedy, Okabe could even accept his feelings after all …

And as a member of the Future Gadgets Laboratory, Luka knew a way in which his wish could come true.

* * *

—So... Luka-kun wants to be a girl...? —Kurisu asked, to make sure she hadn't heard wrong or something like that. On one hand she seemed a bit dazed by Luka's sudden request, but on the other hand she didn't really seem that surprised, as if she had seen that coming despite everything.

—"Luka-chan"...? —Mayuri muttered, imagining a world in which Luka was a girl... Things didn't seem that different...

—Can Luka-shi even be girlier than he already is? —Daru asked, being ignored by the others.

Luka looked down, slightly red. Those were exactly the reactions he expected.

—Ahem... —Okabe cleared his throat to attract the attention of the crestfallen boy—. Lukako... Are you totally sure you want that? —Luka nodded after a moment and Okabe looked at him apprehensively—. ...Okay, we'll do it —Okabe said simply.

—Just a moment! Now that I think about it, isn't that a really bad idea...? —Daru said and this time the others turned to him—. For Luka-shi to become a girl, we would have to change the circumstances of his birth, isn't it? —Okabe and Kurisu stared at him as if to tell him to go straight to the point—. If we do that, we would not only be changing his gender, but his whole life, right? —The expression of Okabe and Kurisu got severe.

—If the Reader Steiner works- —Kurisu said before stopping and showing for a second an expression of terror, as if she had said something terrible, while she turned her gaze towards Luka —. I-I mean, because of the Reader Steiner —She corrected herself somewhat nervous. Although it was late, Luka had understood what she had wanted to say—. if we change the past, Luka-kun will be the only one able to remember that he was once a boy. Adapting to a change like that will be complicated and there will be no one who can help Luka-kun to cope properly with that because no one will know that such a change even occurred. In everyone's memory it will be as if Luka-kun had always been a girl... —Luka could hear Mayuri muttering something about how she would always be there to help "Luka-chan"—. Not to mention the possible additional changes that could occur... —Kurisu looked at Luka with some concern.

—I think my disciple is already aware of all that. Isn't it, Lukako? —Okabe intervened calmly, though Luka could notice a bit worry in his eyes.

—Yes —Luka said, showing a small smile to his friends.

He had genuinely taken enough time to think and consider the possible consequences; It was as Kurisu said.

Again, despite how feminine Luka was, he was still a boy. Keeping his memories thanks to the Reader Steiner would make it difficult for him to get used to his new body; Luka would have to learn again how to accept himself. In the worst case he ran the risk of ending up stranded on a completely different worldline than his with no way to return.

Additionally there was the problem that Kurisu had almost mentioned in his carelessness. It was something that Okabe and Kurisu had explained to him as he became more and more involved in the experiments with the D-Mails.

It was simple: Every time a D-Mail was sent successfully, not only changed past events, but also caused changes in the environment and in the people who inhabit it. Those people could look and act the same after the change than before it, and they would still be fundamentally the same people, but their new and unique experiences would actually differentiate them in a certain way from their other worldlines versions.

Normally the Reader Steiner was able to sync Luka's memories between different versions of himself when the past was modified and the worldline was changed. However, in this case he was risking causing such a monumental change that it could result in the birth of a completely new individual, 100% different from him in all possible ways. Then there would be no Reader Steiner that could help him, because "Luka" as an individual would simply not exist anymore in that worldline.

Luka was aware of all the difficulties that awaited him, and the things that could go wrong. But he managed to keep the hope that everything would go well. Hope that after changing the past he would still be the same person, that he would still be the same "Luka". So he decided to accept the risk.

—I... I'll be fine no matter what happens... —Luka said—. I'm still not entirely sure if I want it to be temporary, or perhaps permanent. But it's something I want. Something I am choosing to do for myself... So, I accept all responsibility for whatever it happens.

The concern of the others recede a bit and they returned Luka's smile.

—That is the response I expected from my disciple —Okabe said solemnly—. There is no reason to doubt or fear for things that haven't happened yet and may not happen at all. Everything will be fine, because no matter what changes, at the end Lukako will still be Lukako —It was easy to notice the pride in the man's voice, his strange greenish-brown eyes fixed on Luka's blues, making him feel as if he was spellbound—. Now! —Okabe exclaimed, pulling Luka out of the trance he was in, and then turned to the other lab members—. It's time to decide how we'll do this! I'm waiting for suggestions.

And then the room fell into a long silence.

At least, until Kurisu intervened mentioning the myth that said a pregnant woman should consume a lot of meat if she wanted to have a boy and many vegetables to have a girl. After nobody could think on anything better, it was decided to consider Kurisu's proposal for the D-Mail content, much to Okabe's displeasure, who didn't find anything scientific or rational in such a thing.

When they began to discuss the receiver's number and the D-Mail time arrival, Okabe realized that by the year Luka was born phones hadn't yet been extended on the vast majority of Japan. And after consulting with Luka's father, he confirmed that, in fact, by that time the Urushibara family didn't have a telephone, but a pager.

Thus, it took them the rest of the afternoon to think and numerically encode on the exact message to be sent to the Urushibara's pager as receiver, hoping to get Luka's parents attention with the message, and praying for them to not take it as a joke or something.

By the time everything was agreed, the D-Mail's working hours had passed, with Tennouji having closed his CRT store. So Okabe announced a new meeting to send the D-Mail the next day.

The day when everything would go wrong.

* * *

Nothing during that morning made Luka think that things wouldn't turn out well. He was nervous, it was true, but mostly he was excited and somewhat anxious about the afternoon that awaited him.

Once he had done his routine and take breakfast, Luka said goodbye to his father and went to the lab.

Almost immediately upon arrival Kurisu got down to work, doing a final check on the message they would send and explaining again to Luka what they were going to do. Meanwhile, Daru was browsing posts on channel, Mayuri was sewing something for the Comiket, and Okabe was lying on a sofa...

Luka couldn't help but turn to watch him every time Kurisu wasn't looking. The young Mad Scientist was looking furtively at Kurisu with a somewhat strange expression, while pretending to check his cell phone.

Was he angry...?

It would make sense if he was upset with Kurisu. After all, Kurisu had managed to relegate Okabe to being a simple passive observer when it came to D-Mails. According to her, Okabe was too greedy and irresponsible to be left in charge and without supervision of something so important as it was to modify the events of the past.

However Luka was able to notice a small weird tremor in his expression... Was Okabe trying to not smile...?

Before he had the time to think on it Kurisu had finished the check.

—Okay! Everything seems fine. We should start now —She said and the others got up and left what they were doing—. ...Luka-kun, are you sure you want to continue...?

Luka nodded immediately and Kurisu smiled.

—Lukako, you should be the one who sends the message —Okabe intervened and after a moment Kurisu handed him a piece of paper with the message and the pager number.

Luka took it and typed both in his cell phone. Then he took a moment to look at his friends.

—It will be great to take "Luka-chan" to the Comiket. There will be no reason for "Luka-chan" to not use the cosplay I did the other day. Mayushii can't wait! —Mayuri said cheerfully and Luka returned a nervous smile.

—Huh, now there's gonna be no reason to not say "someone so cute can't be a girl" -OW! —Kurisu nudged Daru in the side and went to the Phone Microwave to type the arrival time of the D-Mail.

—Go ahead, Luka-kun —She smiled sweetly and hit the start button, pulling away immediately when the electric shock started.

—We'll see each other on the other side, Lukako —Okabe said, crossing his arms.

And then Luka pressed the send button.

* * *

It wasn't that different from other occasions.

Luka _were_ overcome with a sense of languor and an absolute emptiness that seemed to last forever, until suddenly as soon as it started it was over, and Luka find _themselves_ at the temple courtyard, wearing _their_ Miko uniform and holding a broom in _their_ hand.

Luka took a deep breath, while a wave of relief flooded _their_ being. _They_ had achieved it. _They_ had changed the past, events of _their_ birth, and despite this _they_ had managed to continue existing as the same person in this new worldline.

Then _they_ looked up to find _their_ father approaching.

—That's fine, Luka. Do not worry about the rest, I'll take care of it —Said the priest with a smile and Luka stared at him for a few seconds without really knowing what to do. Despite all the times _they_ had experienced the Reader Steiner _they weren't_ really used to the moment after "moving" to a different worldline, always feeling some confusion about what _they were_ supposed to have been doing and not knowing what to say when _they_ suddenly found themselves in the middle of an unknown conversation.

Once _they_ took a moment to process the words of _their_ father and the general situation _they_ deduced that _they_ had been sweeping around the temple courtyard when _their_ father decided to help _them_. So, Luka extended the broom to _their_ father, a little doubtful about if _they_ had understood the situation correctly. To _their_ relief, _their_ father accepted the broom with a smile and gave _them_ a gentle pat on the shoulder.

—You should hurry. Shiina-chan and Hououin-kun are waiting for you.

—Mayuri-chan and Okabe-san? — _They_ murmured back and _their_ father nodded.

After making a small bow, Luka turned and ran towards the house. Once inside, _they_ began to look in all directions trying to find something that would have changed.

But it was useless, everything looked the same. Luka was unable to notice anything that had changed location, that had disappeared or appeared if it wasn't there before.

It took an especially long moment for _them_ to examine in detail the family photos on the wall of the room, but not only hadn't changed either, Luka discovered that _their_ physical appearance _were_ also the same.

Luka tried not to frown, maybe Daru was right. Maybe _they_ were too feminine from the beginning to change _their_ appearance once _they were_ female.

...Or maybe nothing had changed and _they were_ actually still a boy.

 _They_ sure didn't feel different at all...

—...That isn't possible — _They_ mumbled and dismissed those thoughts.

Luka hurried to _their_ room. Closing and securing the door after entering. Like the rest of the house, _their_ room seemed the same. But that wasn't important.

Now came the trial by fire... _Their_ own body.

Luka took a deep breath a couple of times, and after a moment to drown out _their_ worries and shyness, _they_ began to undress slowly...

...

...

...

Luka was still a boy.

And _he_ wasn't sure if being worried or relieved about it.

He knew that if he had really become a girl he would have died of embarrassing right there after watching his new naked body.

But no, nothing had changed. Everything was still in its place.

And that would have been a relief if it wasn't for the fact that he had experienced the Reader Steiner after sending the D-Mail. Something that was contradicting in itself.

That was something that Kurisu and Okabe had realized after sending various D-Mails: The Reader Steiner can only be activated if the D-Mail succeeds in bringing about a change in the past, which happens only if its content manages to cause a corresponding reaction in the receiver. So if the D-Mail had failed to make him be born as a girl, Luka shouldn't have experienced the change of timelines through the Reader Steiner at all.

Definitely something must have changed... But what?

He had no idea.

And no choice but to dress and head back to the lab, waiting for the others to know the answer.

* * *

It was easy to notice the loud voices inside.

Was it there some kind of meeting?

After knocking on the door and announcing himself, Mayuri opened the door and dragged him inside while smiling.

It seems that in effect it was a meeting. Except for Okabe and Moeka, all the lab membs were present.

Daru was talking to Suzuha about a game that had been recently adapted to anime. The girl seemed not to be an active part of the conversation, just nodding and giving short answers to Daru's comments. However, it was obvious that she was actually interested in what the hacker had to say, and was quite comfortable with him.

Meanwhile, Faris commented how cute Kurisu was, trying to convince her to work part time in MayQueen Nyan-Nyan, while she was staying in Japan. Kurisu kindly rejecting her and trying to hide her blush.

After exchanging greetings with everyone present, Luka questioned the whereabouts of the remaining lab members.

It was Kurisu who answered.

—Those two went to buy the drinks and snacks for the party.

—Eh... A party? —Luka asked confused. On the other worldline nobody had mentioned anything about a party. And he didn't remember any holidays or birthdays taking place that day.

—Kiryuu Moeka won the lottery with a number she received in a D-Mail and wanted to throw a party as thanks. She and Okabe Rintarou left a while ago, so they shouldn't take much longer to come back —Suzuha commented, and Luka couldn't help feeling even more confused.

Had the D-Mail he sent before somehow caused Moeka to win the lottery in this worldline? That didn't make sense. Obviously it had to be a different D-Mail...? Or not?

—Is something wrong, Luka-kun? —Mayuri asked noticing the boy's expression.

Luka turned to try to answer when he heard someone knocking softly on the door, accompanied by an almost inaudible whisper.

—Nobody is going to hear you like that, Shining Finger... —Said a loud and deep -though feminine- voice coming from the other side of the door. Luka wasn't able to recognize who could be. It certainly wasn't Moeka—. Hey, we're here, open up! —The voice screamed as they knocked on harder.

—How noisy... —Kurisu muttered sullenly as he approached the door and opened it—. Do you want to knock down the door or what?

With the door open, Luka was able to see on the other side a figure wearing a long and somewhat worn lab coat.

—Okabe... —He whispered and tried to approach. Only then was he able to actually see fully the person in question.

It definitely wasn't Okabe.

—It's my place —Answered with a frown a girl that Luka had never seen before. And even so, he couldn't stop having a sense of familiarity while staring at her.

The girl entered the room as if it belonged to her, while Moeka followed her silently. Each of them brought two bags and proceeded to put them on the room's table.

The unknown girl was thin and quite tall. No doubt surpassing 1.7 m, and so being the tallest person in the room.

The girl seemed to notice Luka's gaze and turned to him. When their eyes met, Luka could see that her irises were that same color that called so much his attention: between green and brown. And behind the neutral expression on her face, Luka could sense some hidden kindness.

—Here, Lukako —Said the girl, extending him a drink that she had taken from one of the bags.

Luka looked away and took the drink, being careful to not even touch the girl's fingers.

He was already quite shy when it came to strangers, but this was different. His heart was beating like crazy and his face was totally red like a tomato, and he didn't even knew why... Or maybe he did.

The girl was beautiful... In a way that he didn't knew how to explain...

Mayuri, Kurisu, Suzuha, Faris and Moeka, the five girls were really cute without a doubt. But this girl had something that made Luka especially aware of her attractiveness.

In a way, that make the situation terrifying, after all Luka had never felt that way about a girl.

The girl walked back to the table to get a bottle of Dr. Pepper for herself. Her black hair moving with each one of her movements, being slightly shorter in length than Kurisu's, though kind of unkempt. Even so, it fit well with the casual image that the girl transmitted. Having no make up on her and wearing a simple white T-shirt and a beige medium-long skirt, along with green sneakers.

—Hey? Here aren't the ones that I ordered... —Daru said sadly as he searched among the drinks.

—They didn't have them —Commented the girl before frowning—. ...I'm this lab leader, so why have I to be the one to do the errands...? —She muttered annoyed.

—Okarin...! —The hacker exclaimed pathetically, and Luka immediately began to feel his consciousness cloud and his legs feel weak like noodles.

Had Daru called that girl Okarin?

—O-Okabe-san...? —Luka asked barely keeping to his feet. Waiting to have heard wrong, or being having hallucinations, or anything else really...

But the girl actually turned to look at him.

—Eh… Is something wrong, Lukako? —She asked with some concern as she noticed how pale Luka had suddenly become.

He had no chance to respond.

Luka was too busy losing his consciousness.

* * *

 **And in that way the problems begin.**

 **It seems that Luka is gonna need to do some detective work to find out what went wrong with his D-Mail...**

 **At least once he recovers from passing out.**

 **If you wanna know how fem!Okabe looks here is the link of a drawing i made:**

 **erintesden DOT deviantart DOT com/art/Okarin-765404224**

 **Anyway, Please leave your reviews. Bye!**


	3. 2 - Illusive Diffuse Recognition

**Well, finally here is the second chapter with a new format for dialogues using "".**

 **And it only took like about 1000 years waiting.** **Seriously apologize for** **that, between college and writer's block, it was difficult for me to write** **this chapter.**

 **Additionally, I wanted to mention to you that while I was suffering** **writing this chapter it crossed my mind the possibility of doing** **some kind of spin-off of this** **fic** **but with another couple (** **Fem-Okabe x another girl of the series), as a way to rest from this** **fic** **between** **chapters.** **Finally the idea became a reality, and I started writing** **Romantical** **Schrodinger** **Box, with the couple of** **Fem-Okabe/Faris.** **You can** **check it on my profile, it's a much lighter story, centered almost** **only in romance.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Illusive Diffuse Recognition.**

* * *

After a while, Luka slowly began to recover consciousness. Technically he still lay motionless, but his mind was beginning to wake up and he was able to hear and process what his friends were saying.

On the amalgam of voices, there was a very familiar one that caused a feeling of tranquility and warmth in his chest.

"H-Hey, Lukako wake up...!" It was Okabe.

However, upon hearing his voice, the memories of the moment before fainting finally returned, and Luka felt a crushing fear seizing him. Fortunately, he managed to leave it aside for a moment to think once more on what he remembered had happened:

Okabe had become a girl.

It was absurd, simply absurd. It definitely didn't make sense.

Also, that his actions could have negatively affected one of the people who mattered most to him... That was basically one of Luka's worst fears...

Everything had to be a nightmare or some kind of hallucination. There was no way it was real.

With that optimistic thought Luka relaxed again.

"Urushibara Luka seems fine." Suzuha said as she seemed to check his pulse and breathing.

"Hmn, maybe Lukako just did not sleep much last night or something... Now that he's resting, his face has gained some color." A simple case of lack of sleep seemed the simplest and most innocuous way to explain his situation.

The _Luka_ belonging to this world line must have been awake all past night for some reason. So that without really being aware of his fatigue; he started to hallucinate over Okabe and ended up fainting. That would explain everything.

"You know, the other day I planted some pretty curious plants, they are delicious, especially boiled with mushrooms, although they smell like rotten meat. But people say that strong smells are effective in awakening people who are fain-"

"No..." Kurisu and Okabe said simultaneously.

"But-..."

"NO."

"Okay." Suzuha sighed.

"I'll see if... Tennouji-san has something of a colony... Down in the store..." Moeka said, and left the room.

There was silence for a few seconds until Mayuri decided to intervene.

"Okarin... What did Okarin do to Luka-kun?" She asked inquisitively and Luka tensed again. He could imagine Mayuri making that face she always did when trying to defend him, being more adorable than intimidating. But what could she be referring to?

"W-What ?! Me? What are you talking about, Mayuri?!" Okabe's voice sounded something shrill, which happened whenever someone put him in a situation that was uncomfortable or embarrassing.

Although it was funny, now that Luka was thinking about it, actually Okabe's voice had been sounding a bit different from normal for a while...

"Mayushii noticed, Luka-kun was acting a bit strange, but when Okarin arrived, Luka-kun turned pale and started staring at Okarin all the time until he fainted."

"I-Is that true?" There was a strange mixture of emotions in _his_ voice; Luka could say that Okabe sounded somewhat nervous. But it was hard for Luka to even imagine what kind of expression he might be doing.

"I see, everything makes sense, it's like the Ancients predicted." Faris said

"N-Now that...?" Okabe commented, annoyed.

" Kyouma's powerful Basilisk Eye finally reached its maximum power, and it should have activated itself against Kyouma's will... Poor Luka-kun would have perished had it not been for the Divine Protection granted to him as Miko."

"So Okarin's lusty gaze made Luka-shi faint? Sounds legit!" Said Daru.

"H-HEY! W-Why are all of you trying to make me responsible...?! AND W-WHAT THE HECK DO YOU MEAN WITH LUSTY GAZE, STUPID HACKER!"

"...You know, Okarin, seriously, maybe you should retire yourself from Luka-shi a little. It would be bad if the first thing Luka-shi see when he wakes up is your face..." Commented Daru totally indifferent to the increasingly angrier person just a couple of steps from him. However, before Okabe could say or do anything, Luka opened his eyes.

It took a few seconds for his vision to clear up and adjust, but then he wished he had remained unconscious for a while longer.

"L-Lukako, are you okay?" Okabe's concerned face was genuinely quite close to his, as Daru had implied. By itself that would already had a strong impact on Luka, unfortunately that wasn't everything.

The nightmare/illusion was real.

The _Okabe_ in front of Luka was really a girl.

"I told you, Okarin! Poor Luka-shi ..."

"This is not a good time to joke, you idiot!" Kurisu pulled him aside and approached the sofa where the girl, who was supposed to be Okabe, had seated Luka. To the merit of the hacker, to see the girl so closely had caused an obvious reaction in Luka. Now, except for his red cheeks, his face was even paler than before, if that was possible.

"... O-Okabe?" In spite of how embarrassed he felt Luka tried to not look away, and began to examine in detail the face of the person in front of him. Even in spite of the obvious changes in the structure and features of her face, Luka could still easily identify the Girl as _Okabe_.

"Yes, Lukako?" Asked the girl more relaxed, assuming that Luka had recovered, due to the color in her cheeks. Luka just stared at her in silence. Even then he was still dazed, and couldn't help but notice how unusually beautiful he found the girl in front of him… But why?

Because of the feelings he had for Okabe, Luka had been almost completely sure that he didn't like girls... And suddenly this happened .

Could it be just because she was similar to Okabe?

"L-Lukako?" Without Luka noticing, his lack of response and constant stare were seriously making the girl nervous.

"Hey , Okabe." Kurisu said coldly. "You really have not done anything bad to Luka-kun, right?" Luka's strange way of acting had genuinely made her suspect that something that she wasn't aware had happened between both of them.

"Y-YOU TOO?! WHAT KIND OF PERSON DO YOU PEOPLE THINK I AM ?!"

"You tell me. No one who is so close with that pervert," Kurisu pointed to Daru "can be a completely honest person."

"She's right, Okarin." Daru commented with a nod of understanding. Apparently he found nothing wrong with such reasoning.

"WHAT THE HELL, DARU?!"

Meanwhile, Luka watched with rapt attention.

Even the way the girl interacted with the others was identical to the Okabe's in his timeline.

* * *

Although Luka didn't like at all the idea of lying to his friends, he ended justifying his fainting by saying that he hadn't been able to sleep the night before.

The rest of the meeting passed without major setbacks.

For most of it, Luka remained silent. Being normally so introverted, it didn't seem to attract the attention of his friends, besides, they could simply assume that he felt tired.

However, the fact was, Luka was simply trying to not think too much about what was happening or he would end up having a panic attack in front of all his friends. At the same time, it was almost impossible for him to not stare at the girl with greenish-brown eyes present in the room.

Time passed and when it was getting late, Luka said goodbye to his friends and left to return home.

However, he didn't do it alone. His friends were so worried that Luka would faint again on the way home, that they decided that someone would accompany him. And of course, as a cruel joke of fate, it ended up having to be her.

"Stupid Daru and stupid assistant, they have no respect whatsoeve ..." Mumbled the girl who was walking besides him.

Her name turned out to be Rina, Okabe Rina. And apparently she was Okabe Rintarou's version of this world line.

Since Suzuha mentioned it, Luka had been repeating the girl's name in a low voice. On one hand, it was a very beautiful name. Also, it was a good way to distract himself and not get nervous about the girl's closeness.

For his luck the walk ended up being relatively silent.

"Hmn." Once they had climbed the stairs to the temple, Rina stood watching the old structure. "...Lukako's father went out?"

"E-Eh?" Luka was somewhat surprised by the sudden question ... I think so?" He didn't remembered that his father had mentioned that he would leave. But considering that the priest usually always went out immediately to receive him when he returned home, that seemed most likely.

"Hmn." Rina closed her eyes for a moment, thoughtful. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes again with a determined expression and turned to Luka. "Lukako, what happened before?"

"E-Eh?" Luka definitely didn't like the way his question had sounded. "What do you mean, Okabe-san?"

The girl frowned as she stared at Luka. Luka swallowed nervous, that was definitely the same expression that would make _his_ Okabe in such a situation.

"Lukako, I'm not that gullible ... No one in the lab is, even Mayuri noticed that something was obviously wrong with you." Luka looked away. He wasn't even going to ask how he had noticed; Luka already knew. He was totally awful when it came to lying or pretending. Luka was exactly the kind of person who found it impossible to hide his emotions or worries. So his friends had managed to see through him completely. "Before the faint happened and after Luka woke up, you seemed totally healthy, not a sign that showed any kind of tiredness from not being able to sleep. Lukako's problem is something completely different, isn't it?"

Lukako remained silent. He didn't want to have that conversation. No matter how many times he imagined it in his head, he didn't see such a situation ending well. So he started rummaging through his head looking for any excuse, however unlikely, but nothing came to his head. It was then that he heard Rina sigh.

The girl looked visibly upset, and still there was a tinge of patience in her expression. Although she also seemed... sad?

She moved robotically until she was facing Luka, raised her arms and grabbed the boy's shoulders tightly, as if making sure that he couldn't escape even if he tried, before fixing her eyes on Luka.

The boy blinked, the situation was quite reminiscent of something Okabe would do.

"If it really isn't a problem as serious as it seems, I will stop insisting on this and will not ask you any more questions about it... But otherwise, I'll just repeat it one more time: Try to deal with everything by yourself, without even thinking we can help you, that doesn't make you stronger, it just makes it clear that you don't trust us." She withdrew her grip and crossed her arms. Her expression burning with great intensity. "SO IF THIS DOESN'T STOP AND YOU START TO GET APART FROM EVERYONE LIKE THE LAST TIME, NOT EVEN THE ORGANIZATION WILL BE ABLE TO PREVENT THAT I DRAG YOU BACK TO US! UNDERSTOOD?!"

"Y-Yes!" Luka exclaimed, more ashamed than scared. Genuinely it was like a repetition of that conversation he and Okabe had in the park.

Rina remained with a stern expression for a few more seconds and then nodded.

"I will not ask you again what's going on Lukako, at least for now, when you're ready you can tell me on your own..." She said kindly; Luka blushing a little at the kindness in her voice. "If you do not want to, you don't really have to talk with me, you can go to Mayuri or Christina." Her expression suddenly became somewhat dismayed. "...Or even Daru." Luka blinked without really knowing what to say, understanding what she implied. Rina had no idea what the nature of the problem was, so in her mind she seemed to haunt the possibility that it might be something only a guy could help him with.

If only were that...

* * *

Rina remained with him in a relative but pleasant silence until her father returned, after which she said goodbye.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Luka and his father talked during dinner about how they had spent the afternoon and a while later Luka retired to his room.

At least that is what he would have done on any given day. Instead, Luka dropped on his bed and looking at the ceiling began to think about everything that had happened.

1 - He was still a boy. The D-Mail had not worked.

2 - Okabe was a girl now.

3 - Both facts obviously had to be related.

Understanding what had happened would be simple once he could figure out what had gone wrong.

Was the message...? Luka wasn't very sure. The message had been meticulously coded together by Kurisu and Okabe, who would hardly have made a mistake. And to begin with, the content of the message had been quite harmless in itself. So, the way Luka saw it, the only possible outcomes of it would be:

a) Succeed in making his mother eat vegetables and make him to be born as a girl.

b) Succeed in making his mother eat vegetables, but fail to cause his gender change at birth.

c) Not be successful in making his mother eat vegetables and be completely useless.

In this way, what part of the message could have caused Luka to remain the same but cause Okabe to become a girl? That led to the next possibility.

Was it the number? Luka had doubts about it, but in reality it didn't seem possible either. The number of his family pager had been given to him by his father, who despite his age was a fairly organized man and wouldn't made any mistakes under normal circumstances. In addition, Luka had entered the number carefully, looking it several times so as to not misspell it. Even if either of them had make a mistale in the end, what was the probability that this would affect Okabe? For that, Okabe's family should need to have had a pager and with a number quite similar to the one of Luka's family. Which was quite unlikely, starting with the fact that both families lived in different places and would have different area codes.

So, had it been the arrival time of the message...? Hardly. It was something as simple as an estimate of the number of hours needed to send the message sixteen years and a few months in the past. Kurisu had done it easily, and entered the number on the Microwave Telephone panel under Okabe's supervision, so the possibility of error at this point in the process was almost completely zero. Thus, Luka could reach the final factor that would rule out this possibility: sixteen years in the past Okabe was already a little over two years old, so the message simply would not change anything even if Okabe's family had received it in some way.

Finally, was it the Telephone Microwave in itself...? No. Daru, Kurisu and Okabe tend to maintain and perform tests often to avoid any failure or malfunction. And not once had something similar happened to what had happened this time. But then Luka couldn't help thinking, that was the first time they sent a D-Mail to a pager...

It was useless, he still needed information to clarify the mystery. But even so, nothing changed the consequences of their actions; Okabe Rintarou was now Okabe Rina...

"But she's still Okabe." Luka sighed.

He had been so scared, so terrified, at the mere idea that his D-Mail could have wiped Okabe from existence... But fortunately, it was not like that.

Okabe had changed, but despite the differences, she seemed to remain fundamentally the same person with a good heart deep inside. Simply Rintarou was now Rina, that was all.

A part of Luka was relieved at that, while on the other hand he still felt guilty. He had to solve this.

Luka sighed. Whether he wanted it or not, he would have to talk to Rina about it. Only she could understand what had happened and how to solve it. He would have to plan a sensible and careful way to do it, maybe he could manage to get Rina to help him without letting go of the whole truth.

But that was something he would think about tomorrow.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Gadgets of the Future Laboratory, Rina was still thinking about Luka. On the other side of the room, Mayuri who had decided to stay and spend the night, was sitting watching Rai-Net anime .

Suddenly something that Mayuri had mentioned came to her mind.

"Hey Mayuri," Mayuri turned to see her. "You mentioned earlier that Lukako had been acting strange, what did you mean by that?"

"Hmn?" Mayuri tilted her head, taking a moment to sort her thoughts. "Luka-kun seemed distracted, he didn't even remember why we were celebrating."

Rina's eyes widened, the gears fitting into her mind. "He forgot about the party?" Rina asked, and Mayuri nodded, and turned back to the TV when Rina didn't say anything else.

 ** _It's the Reading Steiner_...** Rina thought, after all it had been impossible under normal conditions for Luka to forget about the party. Rina had warned him by mail and had repeated it many times. But if the Luka who had attended the party came from another world line then it made sense that he knew nothing about it.

 ** _Well, that explains the strange attitude of Lukako._ _I was a_ _fool to ignore that he would_ _experience the change of the world line because his Reading Steiner..._** Rina searched through the tray of Mails received from her phone until she found the message that was causing her so much frustration. **_I suppose there's no point in worrying about_ _it, considering how everything went to hell._ _Not only the Dual-Mail didn_ ' _t worked... Now I can_ ' _t do more tests for a whole month!_** She thought frustrated as she pulled a remaining drink out of the fridge.

Little did Rina know that the problems she had caused were greater than she could even imagine.

* * *

 **And** **tada** **!** **Cliffhanger!** **In the next chapters it will be revealed that what went wrong with the D-Mail and the role of Okabe in all this.**

 **Leave your** **reviews** **and comments, until next time.**


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